Bite Me Part II
by bowtruckle90
Summary: The second part of the story of Wesley and Anne-Marie. Only Anne-Marie belongs to me.


MORTAL AND PESTLE

Anne-Marie just finished cleaning up shop after the day's work. As per usual there wasn't much to report. She had sold maybe two dozen potions, ingredients, poisons and various mixtures for exorbitant rates (everything in the shop was highly rare and its owner sold everything for twice its worth; most people were so desperate to get what they were looking for that they would pay almost any amount). Anne-Marie didn't exactly hate her job. It was interesting, the kinds of people that came into Abaddon's Apothecary. But the auror in her had to wonder what these people were using the various dangerous substances for. What made her most uncomfortable were the poisons she sold on occasion. On those days she made sure she gave the information to Wesley.

No, she didn't hate the job, but she wasn't exactly fulfilled. She'd gone from being a top agent in law enforcement to a store manager of a dark arts apothecary. She got a kick from being an informant on those rare days containing odd purchases, but that was about all the excitement she got. Cerberus Abaddon, the owner, was a good man though. Definitely a dark streak in him, that was for certain (in fact Anne-Marie was suspicious he may have some vampire blood somewhere in his ancestry), but he was a man with morals, which was more than she could say for Mr. Borgin from down the street. He had come in to pick up some artifact Cerberus had left for him in the shop once and couldn't stop making lewd commentary on her "pleasing shape". She handed him his package and said she never wanted to see him in the shop again between the hours of nine and four Monday through Friday. When he asked what she would do about it, Anne-Marie flashed him her fangs and he high tailed faster than you could say 'bite me'. No one in Knockturn Alley cared much about who sold them their goods, as long as they got them. It didn't keep them from being wary of vampires as much as clean members of society though. It was an advantage.

Anne-Marie returned the broom and duster to the closet, made a note to Cerberus for the next morning about items that were low in inventory, and locked up the shop. She apparated on the spot outside the door and reappeared behind the bushes lining a street in another section of London. After checking the street one way then the other she darted across the road to the opposing sidewalk. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment and instantly a door appeared between number 11 and number 13. Anne-Marie sighed and walked up the steps that had materialized.

Once inside she made her way down to the kitchen where Molly and Arthur Wealsey, their children (sans Bill, Charlie, and Percy) were sitting along with Sirius, and Remus while Molly supervised the various pots and pans cooking ingredients for dinner.

"Small crowd tonight?" Anne-Marie asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Well, for now. Everyone else will be here later for the meeting. Probably more comfortable eating at home."

Anne-Marie set down her coat and bag on the back of her regular seat and she and Remus chatted amicably until dinner was being doled out. Over the chicken and potatoes Sirius asked, "So, anything interesting happen today?"

The question was clearly directed at those at the table who worked, numbering only two: Arthur and Anne-Marie. Arthur had little to report. Only that he thought things were getting a little strained between Arthur and the department head. He thought the Minister was putting pressure on his boss to either fire him or severely limit his involvement on cases. Either way the head was a good man, not the kind to bow to pressure without viable reason. Nothing was going to happen to Arthur's job and his boss had assured him of that, in not so many words.

Anne-Marie had a little more than usual. "I had a character come in today, from the Department of Mysteries, I think. He bought some standard items. Nothing unusual so I thought nothing of it. Before he leaves he turns around and asks if we keep some of our more expensive potions behind the counter for safe keeping. I told him of course we do and asked what he was looking for. He answered and I hardly believed my ears: Veritaserum. His name was Rookwood; he's on our eater list right?"

Anne-Marie was referring to the list of Death Eaters and possible supporters. Sirius nodded and Remus tapped his cheek with a forefinger while resting his chin in the heel of his hand. "Why would he be looking for that?"

"He wanted a large quantity," Anne-Marie answered. "I mean, by comparison. It's not a popular item; usually we only sell doses of that potion to parents who are looking to extract the truth from their children when they think they're lying about something."

"That's a great comfort," Remus commented sarcastically. "And hardly worth the price in my opinion."

"Speak for yourself," Sirius countered. "My parents used to do it sometimes. To them it was plenty worth it. Only a few drops and you got all the answers you want."

"Guys," Anne-Marie cut in. "Anyway, we usually extract some of the potion from a two ounce bottle and sell them enough for about five sessions in a capped dropper. Rookwood bought an entire two ounce bottle."

That fact struck the room so strangely that Arthur looked up from his paper for the first time. "That certainly is odd," he said, adjusting the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. "Did he give you any idea what it was for?"

"No, but I have my own ideas." Molly held up a hand to Anne-Marie at this and sent a searing look to her children.

"Go wash your hands, all of you."

"But we're already eating," Fred protested.

"Go wash before dessert."

The twins shrugged and led the exodus from the kitchen. Once they were out of sight, Anne-Marie continued. "We've discussed things Voldemort can accomplish without much attention being drawn. I think this is something along those lines. I think he's looking for spies among his loyals. And making sure any new recruits are truly dedicated."

Remus rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Well Severus will need to know. Good thing we have the meeting tonight."

Sirius sniffed. Obviously he couldn't have cared less if Severus was pinched for being a snitch and killed for it. Plenty of members were of the same opinion, but those members also knew that the dislikable potioneer was an important part of their information gathering, which at this point was all they would be able to do until Voldemort started making things overtly violent. Arguing with Sirius hardly ever did any good, so the remaining members of the dinner gathering stayed silent.

Order members started trickling a while later. The first to arrive were Kingsley, Tonks and Williamson (though Kingsley had stressed to Wesley that it wasn't a great idea for him to be showing up anymore; Umbridge had been keeping a close eye on him ever since Anne-Marie left). After that came Mundungus Fletcher, Emmaline Vance, and Elphias Dodge. Finally Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore arrived and everyone took up a seat around the table to discuss their news and other information.

The reports from the auror office were unremarkable aside from strange questions coming from their colleagues. Mundungus had his usual complaints about how 'dangerous' his assignments on Dumbledore's behalf were when in fact he spent all his time stealing and scalping.

When the professor got to Anne-Marie she told her story and at the end turned to Severus. "I can give you a bottle of antidote to take a couple times a day for a while, help you dodge any questioning."

The potions master sneered. "And how much will that cost me?"

"Nothing from you." Anne-Marie was confused by the question. "I'll cover it. Why would I charge you?"

Severus didn't answer. Anne-Marie could feel Wesley squeeze her hand under the table. "You have a problem, Snape?"

"I have a problem with some immortal pretending like her help could in any way be a comfort for me. I can make this antidote myself, from my own stores. I don't need help. If she wants to help maybe she can put her life on the line, seeing as she can't lose it." He smiled, hip upper lip curling. "Who knows perhaps she has already put her immortality to good use in our enemy's back pocket. Merlin only knows her fellows will do the same when they're called upon. How are we to know she hasn't been previously solicited and is a spy in our own camp?"

Anne-Marie stood up and stared the professor down from across the table. "I'm a vampire, professor. Not a ghost or Nicholas Flamel. I can be killed like anyone in this room. All that jazz about stakes and garlic and holy water is just stuff muggles make up. In true fact vampirism is more like a disease, effecting people more in the negative than the positive. I'm a good person in a bad situation, but a good person none the less. I hope you remember that the next time you question my motives for helping someone out." She offered up one final glare before stalking out of the room. Wesley followed and made certain to grab her coat and bag on his way out.

When he caught up with her in the hall way, he handed her outerwear to her and asked, "You all right?"

"I'm fine," she answered, not meeting his eye.

They shrugged into their coats. "He's a miserable piece of work. He's just like so many others: he doesn't understand."

"Oh just say it." Anne-Marie opened the door and they stepped out into the night. "…he's afraid of me."

A single red pearl swelled in the corner of her eye and Wesley pulled Anne-Marie into him as they walked down the steps and waited for a car to pass them before crossing the street. "He's right though. Folk like me are likely to take what Voldemort can offer them, and if the past is any indication he can offer quite a bit." She stood straight again as they reached the other side and stepped through the thick bushes. "Unless I can get to them first." They apparated from there back to the cottage they shared in Tinworth where Anne-Marie proceeded to make a call to the fireplace of a very high profile person whom she hoped she could eventually count on as an ally.

BLUDD, SWEAT, AND FEARS

"I'm more than pleased to entertain a beautiful lady," Blodwyn Bludd said as he let Anne-Marie into his home in Wales. "Especially one who is of the same condition as myself." He picked up her hand and kissed it, letting his teeth graze against her skin. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Dalton?"

"Just a few questions and I'll be out of your hair, Mr. Bludd." Anne-Marie followed him into a sitting room off the main hall of the large estate she had stepped onto. She took a seat in a squashy armchair and Bludd took one across from her. "Please, call me Blodwyn. All my friends do."

Anne-Marie nodded and leaned forward in her chair. "Blodwyn, I'm new in the United Kingdom and I need some information. Rumor has it you throw quite a few parties to which those like us are invited…exclusively. Off the record, has anyone you've met among our brethren struck you as the kind to follow Voldemort once he makes himself known?"

Bludd's smile faded. He stood hastily. "You should go now, Miss Dalton."

He walked around the coffee table between them and took her elbow, standing Anne-Marie up by force. As he was walking her to the front door, Anne-Marie asked, "Why?"

"Because I can't be seen speaking to you. Not about this."

Not willing to leave without an answer that was by now so obviously relevant to what she was digging for, Anne-Marie twisted from his grasp and shoved the old vampire through an open door. After closing the door behind them both and lighting her wand, she lit her wand. They were in a closet. "Listen," she said, "I'm not looking to jam you up for anything."

"Right, because aurors are so honest."

"Officially, I'm out of the life. I'll apologize for lying later. Right now I need you to tell me which of your bloodsucking acquaintances fit the profile for psychopathic followers of a narcissistic ideal."

"Who's calling who a bloodsucker?" That cut Anne-Marie pretty deep, but before she could answer to the insult, Bludd kept talking. "I don't have to tell you anything, you have no authority if you're not an auror anymore."

"Maybe not, but my boyfriend still is and trust me he would have no qualms sitting on this estate until we find something incriminating to bring you in on. Muggles you hired to provide you with refreshment designed around their prescribed diets, illegal orgies at your parties, I'm sure there is something. And once you're in a box he can sweat you for anything."

That did it. Bludd wasn't ready to give up his privileged life built on stolen goods and depravity. "Listen, we do some reprehensible things to keep our desires under control, but I don't think any of my friends in the circles are capable of doing anything violent on purpose, nor do I think they would follow a man whose goals are going to destroy our relationship with magic folk should they be met. But I know someone who is willing to take the chance and drag others like him into it."

"A name, Bludd, I need a name."

The vampire sighed and averted his eyes as he spoke. "He's not a vampire. It's a werewolf by the name of Fenrir Greyback. And if he finds out I spoke with someone who is headhunting him he'll come in here and stake me."

Anne-Marie rolled her eyes. "Why not just choke you or cast a killing curse? Staking is a myth and so much more unpredictable."

Bludd shrunk away from her. "He'd do it just to make a point. When he finds out someone is a vampire he makes sure he and his cronies keep an eye on them. He fears what we can do to them so we're kept under his thumb. I don't want to cross him; Greyback is a true psychopath. You can apparate out of here from the foyer. Please…go."

Anne-Marie stepped outside the closet and quickly made herself scarce, popping up again outside Grimmauld Palce. Once she entered she found the Weasley family, Sirius and Remus in the kitchen eating an early dinner on a lazy Sunday. They all greeted her, none too few with full mouths. Anne-Marie returned their hello and looked to Remus. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Remus nodded and stood up from the table. Once in the hall he lowered his voice so as not to disturb the portrait of Sirius' mother and asked, "What's going on?"

"I need information. Remus, do you know a werewolf by the name of Fenrir Greyback?"

Remus paled. "Come in here." It sounded more like a question. He led Anne-Marie into the drawing room across from the kitchen. Once the door was shut, she started in. "Okay, what is it about this guy? First Bludd almost has a coronary talking about him and now it looks like I'm going to make you faint just mentioning the name. Who the hell is he?"

Remus shoved his hands in his pockets. "He's the man who turned me."

Anne-Marie sat heavily, a shocked expression on her face. Remus smiled a little and sat beside her on the threadbare sofa. "Greyback was bitten in his childhood. I'm not sure what growing up was like for him, but in his life he has made it his mission in life to infect as many people with lycanthropy as possible. He positions himself near people at the moons and refuses to medicate himself. He bit me when my father offended him back in 1967. He was in his twenties then, so he must be about sixty now, not that it has any effect on him. He's a ruthless as ever. Always was, even with Voldemort."

"He was a Death Eater?"

"He and Voldemort have a lot in common. They're both extremist, but Greyback's goal is different. He's not in favor of purebloods, like Voldemort. He wants a world in which the race of werewolves reign supreme."

"The way you talk it sounds like he always had his own agenda."

Remus looked sad at this. "Well, he has his own pack. Likeminded wolves with a serious mean streak and all of them answer to that psychopathic freak of nature."

The more he spoke the angrier his tone sounded. It was the first time Remus ever had seemed like he was angry at anyone. He was always in control every time Anne-Marie had been around him. But he calmed down before continuing. "I know why you're asking me all this. If you've been talking to Bludd then you'll know the persecution Greyback and his pack exercise on all the vampires in the United Kingdom. They keep all vampires under their thumb. Making your kind's predicament dire. If Voldemort can offer them protection, and he can…we're looking at a long list of new supporters from your kind."

Anne-Marie sighed slightly, silently. She had to tread carefully. Considering what Remus was telling her, Anne-Marie had a strong desire to do something that would never be considered smart or tactful. But it was justified.

"My kind are good people. Most of them seek out ways to live quietly, without hurting anyone. I can't let Voldemort change that, but I can't say if I were in their position, being watched and scared for my life, I wouldn't take any form of protection offered to me."

Remus looked confused. "Scared for their lives?"

Anne-Marie nodded. "Werewolves spread the condition of lycanthropy when they bite. The condition reacts with our own, the virus called vescosanguine. A werewolf can kill and vampire with a bite and vice versa." She smiled sheepishly. "Vampires and werewolves. You bite you take on a virus, you get bit you contract one. You can't win."

"We're so alike though," Remus commented.

Anne-Marie nodded. "We can heal quickly, keep from sleeping much, hear and see things others can't. We're strong enough to defend ourselves against most foes, but one bite and we're dead."

"Ironic."

Anne-Marie smiled and Remus returned the gesture. Before long they were chuckling slightly. Irony indeed. He was in a good mood; now would be a good time to lower the boom.

"Listen, Remus, this is going far beyond just trying to recruit. This is about being able to protect those like me from exploitation." She took his hands in her own. "Please. If you know where he is, you have to tell me. Let me get to him before Voldemort does."

Remus shook his head. "I can't tell you."

"That's a shame you don't know where he is. I would like to-"

"It's not because I don't know. I do. But I'm not telling you. Greyback is a menace to be sure, and I'm not disputing that he is a danger to you and your kind. But it won't do anything good to go after him."

"I specialized in tracking these kinds of criminals down. These part-humans who use their traits to terrorize others, how do you think I got the way I am?" Anne-Marie sniffed at Remus' concern and removed her hand from Remus'. She crossed her arms and sat back in the cushions of the couch back.

This time it was Remus who reached out for her hand. "Please don't be angry with me. Greyback is the nastiest piece of work I've ever known, and he is never alone. If you seek him out he will set his pack on you and they will have no qualms about killing you." His eyes were pleading with her. "It's not that I don't feel the same responsibility, I do. My own kind is living confused and scared like yours only they're under control of a ruthless man of their own species. Even I wouldn't want to meet him again and the danger for me is considerably less."

"Your point?"

"It's a noble cause, and it should be of concern for the order. But it's not worth your death to accomplish it."

Remus' face was glistening with a thin coat of sweat. Anne-Marie looked over at the clock. It was getting late. The moon would be up soon. Remus followed her gaze. Before long he nodded and turned back to Anne-Marie. "Tomorrow we'll bring the concern to the meeting. For now we should get away from each other before something happens."

Vampires and werewolves not only had the power to kill each other in common, but they also had a tendency to be extremely sexual creatures, considering the animalistic nature they took on with their conditions. The pull was enough to make them copulate with whoever was around despite better instincts. Remus only had a problem during the full moon, but Anne-Marie always had the itch at night. Like most of her other pathologies, Seether was working with her to control it through behavior therapy, but wolf pheromones were highly effective, even for her. So she left Remus to return to his bedroom for his night as a beast while Anne-Marie returned home. Wesley was not there. He was on night duty for the time being, so the nights were lonely. Out of boredom, Anne-Marie had been having more trouble sleeping than usual. But tonight she forewent the potion, opting instead to think on what Remus had said to her.

The order was an effective method of staying in step with Voldemort, but they would not be able to thwart him if the public opinion did not change soon. And she had a sneaky feeling it would not. Certainly not in time for the order to do any real damage to the opposition. Which left Anne-Marie with her suspicions about the future of her kind as it related to the future of werewolves.

She had every reason to believe that, like the wolves, the vampires Voldemort could get a hold of would take any offer of protection he could give them. And that was aside from the freedom from persecution he would afford. The problem was that the wolves were already mostly on the side of the enemy, according to Remus. Therefore, what need had he for the vampires? They were less likely to remain loyal; their society was not as tightly knit and regulatory as the wolf packs. And if he were to choose to harbor both one group would kill the other and then he would have a riot on his hands. If he were being smart, he would choose one, and it would seem the contract was already out.

Where did that leave them? In a lot of trouble, that was where. If she was Voldemort…she would exterminate them all. It made Anne-Marie nervous. For the first time since arriving in England and since the whole trouble started, she was scared.

4 AM

"Did you see the way she looked at me? Clearly that girl had no idea I was a vampire. Yikes, and I thought kids these days were more tolerant."

Anne-Marie and Wesley were leaving Grimmauld place after a very tense meeting followed by an even more tense dinner. Harry Potter had finally arrived and under Dumbledore's instruction Sirius, Remus and a few other members stayed behind after dinner to discuss their position in terms of the wizarding world. Hermione Granger, a friend of Harry's, had never met Anne-Marie before. While she knew she was not exactly the ideal dinner guest, she had never imagined a friend of the boy would be less inclined to be friendly to her than the werewolf in attendance.

Either way, she was pleased with the way the evening had gone, uncomfortable atmosphere aside. What was more concerning was what she, Remus and Dumbledore had discussed earlier. Remus had said they would discuss their concerns, but Anne-Marie had no way of knowing what he was about to ask:

"_Professor I share Anne-Marie's concern for her kind, and I can't ignore that my own kin are in considerable danger if they remain under the guise of Greyback. He's a danger to all of us. I know there's no way we can take him out, not yet. But I can get close to him, gain information. Let me go under cover."_

_Anne-Marie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I thought you said it was dangerous to be anywhere near him."_

"_It is," Remus answered. "But like I said, it's less dangerous for me to go after him than for you to, for obvious reasons."_

_Anne-Marie was shaking her head. She turned to Dumbledore. "I didn't ask him for this, sir. You can't let him stick his neck out like this."_

"_Don't worry," the great man said laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's not going to."_

"_But sir," Remus started to protest. Dumbledore held up his hand. "Remus, it's a good idea, but we can't do it without overplaying our hand and revealing some cards. I'll remember this if a feasible time comes in the future, but for now, we need to play as clean a game as circumstances will allow."_

Anne-Marie was still thinking about all this when she arrived home with Wesley. They had just hired a house elf by the name of Dolly, and the tiny creature was doing her hair when Wesley came into Anne-Marie's room. They had decided on separate rooms, just in case Anne-Marie was having a particularly violent night. The treatments she were undergoing at the hospital were helping immensely, but there was always a chance of relapse at a moment's notice, hence the necessity for living like an old married couple. He stood in the bedroom leaning against the wall beside the vanity watching the elf twist delicate curls into an elaborate style piled on top of Anne-Marie head.

"It's after midnight and you're just now getting ready for this party. Unreal."

Anne-Marie shrugged. "You know vampires are nocturnal. And no one I know is trying Seether's experimental treatment."

"But you said the conversation with Bludd went poorly. I can't believe he invited you."

"I offered him protection. The parties are where they are most vulnerable."

Dolly hopped down off the chair she was standing on behind the seat at Anne-Marie's vanity. "Would you like your nails done miss?"

"Please. And let's do the falsies tonight. I'll stick out like a sore thumb without them." While Dolly went to the beauty chest on the other side of the room, Anne-Marie stood up and visited her wardrobe closet. She opened the doors and started rifling through the various gowns inside. Wesley shook his head. "I still can't believe how much money you used to make back home."

Anne-Marie shrugged. "Well these days I'm glad I made so much. Abaddon pays me squat."

Wesley lifted a large diamond necklace on a golden chain from the vanity. "Yeah, but he pays you with trinkets he lifts from Borgin. You sure this thing is safe?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I check everything thoroughly before I even touch it without dragon skin gloves." Anne-Marie looked back toward him. "The diamond, right?"

Wesley sighed and set the jewel down. "Yeah," he answered, staring at a velvet box laying open and containing a giant, fifty carat haloed gem paired with semi giant twenty carat a piece pair of earrings.

Anne-Marie rolled her eyes and returned to her wardrobe to consider her options. Wesley came to stand beside her. "You sure he's not trying to buy your…love?"

Wesley snaked his arms around Anne-Marie and she leaned back into him, careful not to crush her hair. "Abaddon is old and fairly senile sometimes. He's just enjoying doting on a young thing before he dies. Nothing against accepting gifts is there?"

"No," he breathed in her ear. "But just remember, I'm your man."

He kissed her neck and moved over to flop down belly up on Anne-Marie's bed. She dragged out a blood red gown and held it up to herself. It had a tight bodice and the skirt was made of layers of volumous taffeta. "Give me a word to describe it."

"Exquisite."

"Damn." Anne-Marie shoved the gown back in the wardrobe and went back to digging. "This is a vamp party, not a social ball like last time. Elegance is key but not as key as a certain level of smut." The next thing she dragged out was a black number. The top was a corset encrusted in crystals of all sizes. From the bottom of the corset silky material was draped in large, gently curving pleats to the mid-thigh in the front growing longer in the back. "A word for this one."

Wesley's eyes bugged a little and he considered the gown for a moment before asking, "How low is that top?"

Anne-Marie held her hand flat like a pancake against her bosom where the corset would start. Wesley blinked and licked his lips, and then offered an opinion. "Provocative."

Anne-Marie flashed a smile. "Perfect."

Anne-Marie was enjoying herself, but she was concerned about how Wesley was doing all alone in the holding room. For the moment everyone in attendance to Bludd's party was mingling, greeting one another and making new acquaintances where necessary. As it was, Anne-Marie had met everyone in the room, if very briefly, and was now anxiously awaiting the time for the feast to begin. Everyone had brought their own humans to feed on, mostly slaves. Wesley had insisted last minute to be brought along which made Anne-Marie nervous (she was going to borrow one of Bludd's serving girls). Only because she didn't want any of what she was hopefully starting tonight to make a legitimate record. Wesley promised it wouldn't and would beg that it was part of their lifestyle as a couple if ever questioned, but still…Anne-Marie didn't know what kinds of characters she was going to meet tonight. She'd rather not drag Wesley into a party and drag him out as a slaughtered piece of meat.

"Ciao Bella." Someone was greeting her. Anne-Marie turned her head towards the voice and was relieved to see it was only Bludd. He approached her and kissed either cheek before sitting beside her on the chaise. "Your friend is not so friendly they say."

Anne-Marie was watching the room. Her eyes rested for a second on a couple of men in the corner. They were kissing one another passionately. "I'm not surprised. He's never been around this kind of environment."

Bludd seemed not to have heard. "Then again, that's my man handling the feast downstairs. The servants, he tells me, find him overly friendly…in regards to you madam. Seems he let slip the nature of your relationship. You're in love with your source of food. Naughty, naughty." He wagged a finger in her direction playfully before leaning closer and lowering his voice, changing his tone from flirtatious to concerning. "You can't let him continue letting on that _that _is the kind of life you've been leading with him. We don't mix with human beings, Annie."

"It's Anne-Marie, and we are human Bludd. We have a very serious condition, but we're still human by all practical terms. Besides," she added raising her glass to her lips. "It's not like no one here knows I'm trying to change the terms of my existence."

"Lord, you are young after all."

Some doors opened at the end of the drawing room and a young vampire, perhaps only a hundred years of age, called out an announcement that dinner was served.

Everyone uprighted themselves and followed the butler into the dining room where each had a seat indicated by a carefully calligraphied card on their plate. Anne-Marie was placed on Bludd's right, and when everyone had found a seat and made themselves comfortable, Bludd took his wine goblet and called out to his guests.

"As the guest of honor, I think we should let Miss Dalton open our delectable feast. Annie?"

Anne-Marie rolled her eyes and rose to her feet with her own glass in hand. "I have not been here long, it's true. And you all know what brought me to your side of the pond in the first place. But I'm not here to celebrate that. Tonight is for fun and pleasure…" she was going to stop there, but a thought crossed her mind; something that seemed it might make an impact were the room to hear it. The kind of impact that might help her reach her desired ends in this entire farce she was participating in. "And while I'm not in attendance to preach to you about the merits of controlling the base terms of our existence as it is, the enjoyment I feel in all of this reminds me of how similar all beings are. Us, magic folk, muggles,…and animals." Anne-Marie paused for dramatic effect. "We love good food, we love good company, and we love great sex. Cheers to all three."

The others drank to her speech and applauded her before the first course was brought. The butler handled the food at each course (plates of chicken, fish, etc.) and his associate, another servant of Bludd's Anne-Marie assumed, carried the accompanying glasses of blood. All these samples were concocted in the bloodstreams of Bludd's own servants, comprising elements of lemon and herbs to complement each dish served.

When everyone was sufficiently full, they all adjourned back to the drawing room where their respective humans were waiting for them. Anne-Marie found Wesley on the same chaise she had been occupying earlier. She sat with him, settling herself in his lap slowly, seductively, so as not to make the others too suspicious that this get together was a cover for something larger. "Sorry, I didn';t know we would be separated for so long. Where were you in the house?"

"The finished attic. Lovely view from here really," Wesley replied quietly, letting his hand wander over Anne-Marie's semi-exposed thigh. "I saw some movement on the plain once or twice. No way I could make out anything solid. How did you make out?"

"I said a few things during my guest of honor speech that I had hoped might rustle a few feathers, but so far no one has indicated an interest in elaborating.

"Maybe it was too subtle," Welsey suggested.

"Maybe," Anne-Marie sighed. "Oh well. We're here, we might as well make something of it." Just as she was lowering her head toward Wesley's uncovered forearm, they were interrupted by a young vampire, one of the young vampires from the couch Anne Marie had been watching preceding dinner. He had a cold look about him, dark hair, olive skin, and green eyes. It was true he looked young, but as he got closer Anne-Marie sensed that was all there was to it. He had been bitten young but had the air of wisdom to match a person who had been alive for centuries already. "I hate to interrupt," he said smoothly, "but I wonder if I might have a moment in private, Miss Dalton. Your ward can make himself comfortable with mine, Mark, over there."

It wasn't a suggestion. Wesley let Anne-Marie stand to let him up and removed himself from earshot to make himself very stiffly comfortable with the blond gentleman across the room.

Anne-Marie took a seat in Welsey's empty place and indicated to her visitor to do the same beside her. He presented a hand to her, saying, "My name is Leonard Reali."

"Pleasure, Mr. Reali." She let him take her hand and kiss it. With the pleasantries out of the way, she then asked, "What is it I can do for you."

"I think, Miss Dalton, it's what I can do for you."

"Oh?"

"You mentioned animals rather bluntly at dinner. More troubling yet you lumped them into what sounded like the same category as human kind, and ourselves. I can only imagine you were speaking about man wolves."

"You mean werewolves?"

"If that's what we're calling them now, yes. You'll have to forgive me, I don't get out much and when I do I avoid the subject."

"Of course. Please continue."

Anne-Marie did not wish to rush what appeared to be an informant, but she had noticed from the corner of her eye that this vampire's blond piece of tail was making some very insistent moves on Welsey.

"Miss Dalton, if you were, theoretically, speaking about our hairy brethren in incurable magical conditions, then you should know what you're up against." Anne-Marie came in close and listened to her new best friend speak in hushed tones. "They follow us, watch us. Every night excluding the full moon. They think if they can smell a conspiracy brewing they can stop us before we've organized, and keep on top of us. Nothing has ever happened because we're not the kind to plot. We enjoy the fine things in life, not conflict, not in these times."

"I'm aware of the watching, Mr. Reali. Bludd has already filled me in."

"Ah, of course he did. He probably made light of the situation. But with the dark one alive again it brings new concerns to everyone. Greyback is concerned about losing favor with You-Know-Who who and thereby having a harder time to overthrow his world order and create his own once the big man thinks he's won. Enemies closer, you know the saying. _We're_ concerned about the dark one taking their side and wiping us out, and I imagine your friend over there and his kind are concerned about the both of us."

"You could say that, but surely you're not suggesting a turf war, Mr. Reali."

"No. I'm suggesting we remove everyone's perceived threat. With or without the dark one, we're in this tug of war. His presence only makes things progress more rapidly. Our struggle is due to the fact that our own condition has the possibility to effect theirs. If that were no longer the case we would be of as little consequence to either party as muggles are. You're a visionary, Miss Dalton. If we could all learn to control ourselves like you can-"

Anne-Marie held up a hand. "Let me stop you there. That wasn't the message I had hoped to give, but since you got it anyway, I suppose I'll have to set the record straight, with you at least. My hope is to remove the pressure from our kind in terms of removing the man who is placing the pressure. Without Greyback we have no reason we can't live in peace. You're right, the magic folk have concerns, on both sides of the coin. The concern as far as our kind goes is that all Voldemort has to do is offer you all protection from the wolves and you'll take it under any circumstances at this point. If Greyback is no longer walking this earth, we don't need protection. Without needing protection, what bargaining chip does the Dark Lord have to lay before us?" Leonard looked dejected. Anne-Marie put on a soft smile and placed her hand on his. "Mr. Reali, I hope you understand my reasons for being here better. If you yourself are interested in embarking on a journey to change your life to resemble its old self I can recommend my own healer."

Leonard smiled a bit and nodded. "I would like that, I think. It would be hard, but I do miss the old life often." He produced a card from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "Have him call me."

"I will."

"And if you really want to go after Greyback I can only suggest this: proceed with the utmost caution and, if you can, destroy him from the inside out. He keeps his friends close. Too close, I think." Anne-Marie nodded her understanding as her new friend stood. As he turned from her, she called back to him. He turned once more and Anne-Marie asked, "Out of curiosity, why the interest to pay a visit to my dear friend when so many spur the thought?"

Leonard smiled wryly. "If you can find it, there is a book on werewolves, _Storie Vere di Uomini Lupo._ _True Stories of Wolf Men_. My brother and I, our story is there. Chapter seven."

He returned to his place and sent Wesley back to Anne-Marie. He looked so miserable, she made their excuses and they departed. It was only four in the morning and though it was summer there was a district chill in the air. After apparating home, Wesley stalked through the kitchen, blew through the bedroom and went straight to the master bath where he furiously began brushing his teeth. When Anne-Marie caught up, he said in a garbled voice, "I hope the information he had was helpful, because I just kissed a man for you."

"It wasn't particularly informative, that conversation. But it did give me an idea."

Wesley spit in the sink. "I hope it works, because I don't fancy another party like that."

SPURRING ADVANCES AND SPARRING PARTNERSHIPS

"Again, you're still too hesitant. You're going to get yourself killed that way."

Remus and Anne-Marie were alone in the drawing room at Grimmauld place. Sirius had been bored and went out to chase a few cars, Arthur and most of the Order were busy at their jobs and Anne-Marie had been given the afternoon off. Wesley was watching the shop to find out why and would be meeting with Moody later in the evening to discuss why, if there was a reason. Molly had left for groceries, so Anne-Marie and Remus decided it would be a good time to do some of their specialized training.

The furniture was shrunk and moved to yield more space. Anne-Marie and Remus were sparring hand to hand. Anne-Marie was having trouble. Remus was attempting to enlighten her as to the trouble with being too timid. "Only perfect practice makes perfect. You can't hesitate when you're up against Greyback. I know I'm not like him, he's far more powerful than I am; physically he's built like a boulder, but you have to really try here or you won't be ready for the real thing."

"That's just it," Anne-Marie sighed, walking to the window and gazing to the street below. "You're not like him." The sun was out. Anne-Marie was enjoying seeing it with un-shaded eyes. Her vision was finally stable in the sunlight. Just in enough time for the snow to begin. She could hardly wait to see the sun glint off the powdery substance and make everything glow. Remus came up beside her. "I can't fight you Remus. You're the only person here who understands what kind of a life sentence my condition is."

Remus sighed and leaned against the window frame, gazing outside same as Anne-Marie. "There will be no taking it easy once you've killed one of his men. He'll throw everything he has at you, and you don't possess the supernatural strength that some vamps have. It should really be me doing this."

"You don't have supernatural strength either." Anne-Marie smiled a little and turned her face toward Remus. Their faces were close. She met his eye and felt a strong pull deep within herself. He was a magnet to her. Anne-Marie broke her gaze and stepped back. "Besides, Dumbledore said it's not going to happen until we need to combat them."

Remus smiled this time. "I thought this whole thing we've been working out for weeks was to stop anything from getting out of hand in the first place."

He stepped close to her. She backed away. He kept coming. Anne-Marie's mouth seemed to have a life of its own. "I don't think I'm strong enough. Not even if I stopped my treatments and gained some of my extra senses back."

"I think you could be," Remus answered. Anne-Marie now had backed herself against the wall and there was nowhere for her to go. Remus leaned onto the wall, hand placed above her head. He was hunched over, leaning in close. "I think you could be more than you ever dreamed. You're more than I ever dreamed…"

Anne-Marie ducked under his arm and made for the center of the room. "Remus snap out of it."

He was still leaned against the wall, but was now shaking his head vigorously. When he was finished he stood straight and faced Anne-Marie. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Anne-Marie finally ventured closer. "It's the full moon tonight. It's fine."

Remus sat himself on the floor, leaning his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. "No, it's not. I've never been that forward with you before. There's always been tension between us close to the moon; it's natural. But I've never been so forward as to suggest you abandon trying to be a better person."

Anne-Marie sighed and joined her friend on the floor. Sitting cross legged, skirts of her robes splayed out, she laid a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Come on, tell me what's going on."

With a long inhale, Remus raised his head. Carefully, he formed his words. "Tonks asked me on a date. And I refused her."

"Well do you like her?"

Remus sniffed. "You can't tell?"

It was a fair comment. Anne-Marie wasn't sure she knew what she was venturing into in having this conversation, but she did have what she thought was sound advice. "Listen, if you like her, go out with her. It can work, human and non-human. It works with me and Wesley. It can work for you too."

Remus shook his head. "I can't change the moon, Anne-Marie. I can't change what I am."

"Neither can I."

"But you can improve. I can't." Remus stood up. "Anyway, I'm sorry about that.

Anne-Marie looked up, staying where she was on the floor. "Maybe we shouldn't practice during the moon week anymore."

"I'm thinking we shouldn't practice anything anymore. This isn't for you. It should be me, truthfully." Remus shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to press the headmaster harder for permission. You're right; we should get this done before something happens, not after." He leaned over and cupped Anne-Marie's cheek and kissed her other. "Thank you." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Anne-Marie to ponder. 'More than she ever dreamed…'

GETTING WARM AND GOING COLD

"So you think this won't cause any serious side effects?"

"No more than your treatments could have. In fact, decidedly less." Healer Seether was sitting in his office with Anne-Marie Dalton, his crowning achievement patient. She was questioning the effects of discontinuing her treatment. "But are you certain this is what you want? You were doing so well. Practically…"

"Human?"

They both smiled a little. Seether was in fact about to say 'human'. "Right," he responded. After flipping through his charts in her file one more time, Seether set the file down on his desk and reached out toward Anne-Marie. She took his hand and Seether sighed before continuing. "You've made great progress. But I agree with you, the treatment could turn on you at any time. We don't know the long term effects of some of the potions you've been taking for management. Being the turned has no dangerous effects, it just changes your whole life."

"I don't even know if I would hate that life," Anne-Marie said for maybe the tenth time since the meeting started. "I never gave it a chance. I just need to know what I can expect when I stop the treatments."

"Well," Seether said as calmly as he could. "It will be uncomfortable for a while. Your skin will return to being quite sensitive to the sun, your eyes as well. Your nocturnal mood swings will return. The aggression and the superior night vision. Everything you presented with will return. But in the nature of the disease, you might find yourself with some additional conditions. The changing of the eyes, heightened senses, superior strength, even a degree of invisibility. I had another patient some time ago now who started and then stopped after meeting a women he fell in love with who also was inflicted. He only had a few symptoms, fewer than you even, and when he stopped my program he gained quite a few. My theory is that when suppressed the disease manifests additional symptoms while being pent up in the body. The same as when someone lets the condition control them; without restraint it simply grows, like a vine. Be careful, Anne-Marie, that you don't lose yourself in this endeavor."

"Believe me," she said with a smile, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "As soon as this is taken care of I'll be right back here. It's just that I need to get something done for the order and, without my powers as they could be, a very dear friend of mine will go instead. He'll get himself killed and has no real training. I'm an auror. Or I was."

"Is this a very good friend?" Seether was moving around now, having let go of her hand and was rustling up some papers for his upcoming rounds.

"He is. And as he knows more about the kind of people I'll be dealing with he thinks he should be the one to handle it, and while he is a very good defensive wizard, he's older than me. And his condition is untreatable. Why should he try and almost certainly be killed when I can get it done and get out alive? And sooner I might add. He could do it, but it would take cunning, and cunning takes time. We don't have as much time as everyone thinks. I'd like to nip this before anyone dies."

"You're a noble person, Miss Dalton. Don't forget that part of you while you let the beast take over."

Anne-Marie promised she wouldn't. The thing was, she wasn't sure it was a promise she would end up able to keep. Only time would tell what her pent up beastly nature would dredge up, and they all would just have to wait and see.

DEAD AND UNDEAD

"Come on old girl…you can do this." Anne-Marie was gripping the edge of her vanity as she gazed in the glass at the figure of Welsey in bed and fast asleep behind her. It was too late to be called late anymore. In the early hours of the morning Anne-Marie was trying to get up enough courage to finally leave the house and go hunting. Her stomach had begun to settle now after having fed from Wesley. (It had made him instantly sleepy; she wondered if she was starting to take too much.) Now there was only the nightly acclimation to her various amplified senses.

Her ears picked up every sound from the humming of Dolly as she mended one of Wesley's robes to the snap of a twig outside her window. Her eyesight as well had become quite sharpened. She could see for an extraordinary distance, and in incredible detail.

Beyond these useful additions to her body were some rather bothersome ones, which included a heightened sex drive that tired even Wesley, and a mean streak that had surfaced. She was also sleeping during day again and noticed when she would attempt to watch the sunrise it burned her skin and eyes as it had when she was newly turned.

But as she stood before her reflection dressed in black robes and finally drawing up to her full height and lifting her heavy cloak from the chair back, Anne-Marie found she felt strong. Unnaturally so. Tonight was the night. Inside her cloak she pinned a sapphire encrusted brooch Wesley had given her. An early Christmas present. It was impractical, but as a token of his love, it would make her feel invincible and authoritative in the face of the conflict to come.

As she left the house she stopped by the kitchen and asked Dolly to make sure Wesley stayed sleeping until sunrise, whatever it took, and remind her dear helper that she would likely need help returning home through the bulkhead in the garden when she returned.

The night was chilling. Anne-Marie marveled at the fact that she couldn't feel much of a difference. Her temperature had taken on that of the undead so the chill in the air didn't bother her in the least. Another perk to the situation she supposed. At least when she got her dress ripped it wouldn't be unbearable to continue fighting.

She looked around her. After apparating into the forest near where Bludd had told her the camp would be, everything had looked the same. The trees, the snow on the ground, any direction she walked it was all the same. No matter, she wasn't looking for anyone, she was counting on being found.

There was something in the distance. She could not make out the shape, but the sound was unmistakable: ragged breath and something heavy bounding through the snow. Anne-Marie made a conscious effort not to turn around. She needed to surprise the surpriser. He thought she was just a lost witch out here, maybe even a local muggle. But no…he would be in serious trouble when he found out exactly what was under the cloak.

It hit her like a tidal wave. Before she knew it everything was a tumble of snow and fur and teeth. Anne-Marie managed to untangle herself long enough to right herself and see her attacker. And when she did she swore under her breath.

This wasn't Greyback. This was one of his cronies. She cursed Bludd as she circled her opponent, in full wolf form, for telling her they would all be on his property tonight, watching another party. Greyback was supposed to be alone. If she lived, Anne-Marie was determined, at least in the moment, that Bludd would not be the next night.

The wolf lunged at her again. Anne-Marie made sure to grab him at his throat to keep his fangs at bay from her pearly skin. If she got bit she was dead. The force of the lunge knocked Anne-Marie back, but she managed to catch herself on one knee, which put her in the perfect position to thrust her body forward and tackle the assailant. It took some doing but Anne-Marie managed to secure each flailing clawed hand beneath each boot (she didn't need any more condition to compound her own, which can be caused by a mere scratch in her case). But there was too much motion going on to manage a bite, and even then the death would be a slow one, and he would have plenty of time to return the favor. Instead Anne-Marie bent her knees as much as she could, crouching on the wolf, before pushing off from hands and feet to cause her to catapult herself some ten feet backward thanks to her increased strength. Something hurt on her arm. But she didn't have time to think about it; the wolf was getting up. When the beast rushed at her again, Anne-Marie was still on her back from the self-inflicted throw, so she waited until he was upon her before rolling flat onto her back and burying her hands into his shoulders and boots into his hips and jettisoning the animal over her head. There was a loud thunk. And then nothing.

Anne-Marie took a breath and sat up. The wolf had been thrown headfirst into a tree. She stood up and noted there was blood beneath where her arm had been. On looking at the sleeve of her robes, the right one was torn and there was blood streaming from a sole cut. Anne-Marie grabbed hold and held tight as she stepped cautiously toward her opponent. It was clear when she was close enough he was dead. The neck had snapped. "God damn it," Anne-Marie swore.

When she looked up again, ready to go home and come back another day after giving Bludd what he deserved for failing to lure every wolf but Greyback with another party, there were shadows emerging from the trees. They were men. Ragged looking and dirty. And naked. The dawn had broken, but thankfully the sky was overcast; sunlight would not be an issue for an hour yet until the gloom burned off. Anne-Marie looked back to the body and noticed that it was now the figure of a man laying naked in the snow. When she looked back there was a circle around her comprised of these horrible looking, nine unfamiliar men. And one familiar one.

Remus was among them. He looked like hell, but it was him all right. in all his nude glory, same as the rest. But there was hardly time to register this because a large man, over six feet in height and very muscular, stepped forward. He circled Anne-Marie and examined the dead man. When he was done, he stood again and rounded on Anne-Marie standing toe to toe with her, which made her uncomfortable considering her inquisitor was well hung with not a thread on his body. "Vincent was a good friend of mine. He was smart, and he was strong…too strong for a women to overpower him alone, and physically. How did you do it?"

Anne-Marie flashed her fangs, and Greyback took several steps back, trying not to appear startled, but doing poorly at it. Greyback didn't appear able to speak directly, so Anne-Marie elected to do so. "I had hoped to find you here tonight while your associates made my friend's night miserable once again."

Here Greyback found his tongue. "We decided to cancel that romp in favor of getting acquainted with a new friend." He nodded toward Remus.

"I see that," Anne-Marie replied scathingly. "Well, I suppose I shall have to wait for another opportunity to arise."

"I think you might find that difficult now that I know I have a vamp on my well-formed ass."

Anne-Marie nodded. "I never expected it to be easy. For now let me pass. I would not enjoy sewing more grief among you, at least on this night."

She had no idea if it would work, but Greyback nodded toward the others, who cleared a path for her, if a narrow one. They must have been romping all night. And the monthly change took energy; a lot of it. They had just shifted so they were all dead on their feet, even if they didn't look it. They wouldn't be able to withstand her at her fullest, which Anne-Marie felt she was still at. Greyback was making a wise choice to save his army for a night when they were fresher.

They hissed and jeered at her as she passed, though keeping their distance. Until she passed Remus. He grabbed her by the arms and breathed in her ear. "Walk a mile west and wait for me. Sorry about this…" He shoved her hard and she stumbled forward, just managing to balance herself. She could hear Remus laugh maniacally. All part of the act. She did as she was told and began to walk.

The snow was deepening as she walked, and after twenty minutes, Anne-Marie was tired and stopped. The tone of the air was brightening. The sun would break through soon. She had her cloak, but would rather not have to combat in such a way. Not, there was too much to think of. However, if Remus did not show up soon she would be in need of the cloak, so she wrapped herself underneath it and sat in the snow to wait.

What on earth was going on? Remus wasn't supposed to be here. Did Dumbledore give him the green light? Did Remus decide this on his own? Hopefully their relationship would be kept secret. If Greyback found out it could be disastrous for Remus. Fatal even.

As Anne-Marie thought, there was a hand on her shoulder. She started and jumped to her feet, but it was only Remus, still in the nude and apparently freezing. Anne-Marie whipped off her cloak and wrapped her friend in it. "Come on. The sun is coming out and you're going to catch your death. We have to get out of here."

"Do you have a wand?"

Anne-Marie drew it and with a swish they were gone, traveling through space. When they came out on the other side, they were on the front step of number 12 Grimmauld Place. After hustling inside, the pair made their way toward the stairs, thundering up the cases not caring who heard. It didn't matter anyway. As they passed the drawing room everyone seemed to be asleep: Sirius, the Weasley children, and Harry Potter. Anne-Marie stopped momentarily, but Remus pressed her on, saying they could figure it out later.

Once they reached Remus' room, he ushered her inside and locked the door behind them both. Anne-Marie had never been inside before. She looked around and ended up passing by a bookcase too close because the searing pain in her arm started again and when she touched at the place where her sleeve was ripped blood ran afresh. Remus went to her and took her hand. He led her to the bed against the wall and sat down with her, taking his wand as he passed his bedside table.

"Take that off." Anne-Marie looked at him strangely. "The robes," Remus clarified. "The top needs to come off so I can see that better."

"I can take care of myself," Anne-Marie insisted.

"And would you know if that was a claw mark or worse?"

She wouldn't. Anne-Marie therefore turned away from Remus and struggled out of her robes' top. Before turning back she grabbed the nearby pillow and held it tight to her chest. She turned back to Remus and Remus began examining her arm. The cut was not very long but it was deep. After a few moments Remus sighed, saying, "Well, I don't know how you did it, but you're lucky. This was caused by a rock or something in the snow. Out of curiosity," he added, siphoning off the blood surrounding the hole before proceeding to close the wound for her, "how did you do that? Kill a werewolf in animal form? Greyback doesn't know but you're basically human again at this point…"

"I stopped my treatment so I could gain the strength to defeat a werewolf. I just ended up killing the wrong one."

Remus pursed his lips. "Even so, that was dangerous, and you had no guarantee of your strength. What were you thinking?"

Anne-Marie rested her chin on the pillow and mumbled. "I don't know. This whole thing makes me nervous. I don't think we have the time Dumbledore claims we do. He's not willing to do anything about it now, but it didn't mean I couldn't."

She expected Remus to be angry. Instead he was silent. When she turned her tired head, he was smiling. "Great minds," he said quietly, glancing at her briefly. "I was thinking the same thing." Her arm was now healed and looked good as new.

She looked up to thank Remus and realized he was still bare beneath her cloak. Anne-Marie cleared her throat and said, "Well I suppose I should get this all back on and you should get, well, _something _on."

They turned from one another and dressed. And before leaving for the night, or rather day, Anne-Marie turned to Remus and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For thinking like me." She stepped away. "And for helping me find my way out." Remus shoved his hands into the pockets of his newly donned trousers and smiled. "I didn't know you would get lost. I just wanted a way out of there."

Anne-Marie paused at the door, hand on the knob. "Maybe together we can figure this out."

"Maybe, but you won't be able to pull a stunt like that again. Greyback is right. you won't get another chance. It's up to me now."

Anne-Marie nodded, smiling back, saying, "Sleep well, Remus."

As she passed by the drawing room, Molly Weasley was in the process of sending her children to bed, roused from their slumber on the sofas. As they and Harry marched past, Anne-Marie sidled up to Sirius and asked, "What's been going on?"

Sirius shook his head and responded, "Arthur's been attacked."

Remus came thundering down the stairs and grasped Anne-Marie's arm. "Thank goodness you didn't leave. The sun's out, now. You'd never make it home alive."

Molly shuffled out of the room with a yawn. Sirius rested his hands on his hips and said, "Well, I suppose you'll be needing a room. If you don't mind bunking with Remus, there's a spare bed in there. My only other spare is…unavailable."

Anne-Marie schlepped back up the stairs following Remus. What could she do, after all? Remus was right. The sun was out. Anne-Marie sighed and looked toward one of the windows with sun streaming through it. "Well, I'd better get upstairs. Maybe from there I can send a patronus to Wesley and let him know I'm stuck out here. And why."

It was later that morning and Anne-Marie was in a darkened drawing room at the Grimmauld house when Remus entered with a book in hand. Before closing the door behind him, he looked up and noticed her. "Sorry," he said. "I thought you'd be sleeping upstairs."

Anne-Marie shook her head. "Nah. Too much on my mind."

Remus made his way to her and sat beside her on the couch. "Does Wesley know you're here?"

"He knows. And he's furious. I never told him I was reneging on my treatment." Anne-Marie drew her knees into her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "He thinks I've been trying to change myself back because I want to be a nocturnal blood sucking animal and turn him into the same thing." She looked at Remus. "I called the fireplace. He won't' let me explain why I did it. Says that I should have trusted him in the first place."

"Why didn't you?"

Anne-Marie shrugged her shoulders. "I thought it was better not to tell him. I thought maybe he would talk me out of it or…stop feeding me." She smiled feebly. Wesley had been so good to her about keeping her from having to drink animal blood. If she had told him she was stopping therapy…Well it could have been dangerous. For him. Maybe she should have said something.

Anne-Marie growled a little and flopped back on the couch. "I've royally screwed up, Remus. He trusted me, gave my his love, his body, his life. I betrayed his trust. I deserve to burn in the sun."

Remus shook his head, setting his book aside and reaching out for Anne-Marie's hand. "No, love." He pulled her back to sitting up. "You did what you thought was best. You were trying to protect him. Never be sorry for caring."

Anne-Marie sighed. "Well I have to make it up to him now." After thinking a moment while Remus cracked open his book, she said, "Isn't there a library or a study in here?"

"There was a study, but Sirius turned that into a bedroom and stockpiled all the books we found in his mother's room with Buckbeak."

Anne-Marie stood up and smoothed her robes. "Well then, I have some reading to do."

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

"But you were doing so well on the treatments. Why change things now?"

Seether had been delighted to see Anne-Marie returning to his offices, until she had uttered that all-consuming word that signified the desperation of the condition taking over. Cure. Anne-Marie had only said five words to him, and said them several times through his objections, his assertions that it could not be done. "I want to be cured."

Seether sighed, resting his hands over hers across the desk in his closed office. "Alright. I will tell you what I know about curing your condition:

"There is only two ways of curing a vampire without killing them. One is a very old legend and would take years to accomplish. Maybe even impossible. The other is a theory of my own. An old legend says that if someone can find the tree of Eternal Forgiveness and drink from its roots, they will become a cure for the damned."

"Tree? Where?"

"No one knows. It has never been found. The myth says it sits among clouds."

"And the other method?"

Seether stretched his wand toward the door and there was a rippling in the air for a moment before he continued. No one was to hear this conversation, so it must be serious, Anne-Marie thought.

"My idea is that a vampire must die in order to be cured. We kill said vampire, well, you, and we drain your blood and catch your soul as it leaves from your mouth as souls tend to do."

Anne-Marie looked confused. "I've seen death and I've never seen a soul exit a corpse."

"Were you standing in an ice box or near a dementor?"

"No."

"Well there you have it. they are visible only when the temperature is below zero."

Seether paused and taking in new breath continued. "After your soul has fled, we run new blood into your body. Clean blood, untainted. When you have been replenished, we return your soul to you."

He was making it sound simple, but there was a catch or two, Anne-Marie could sense it. looking Seether in the eye, she asked, "What are you hiding from me?"

Seether cleared his throat. "There is a likelihood this would simply kill you and your soul will refuse to return to your body. And then there's the blood. It must be an entire seven pints of the same blood. Someone of magical descent would have to have died, so that you could live."

Anne-Marie never went home after that meeting. She lived at the hospital, no visitors, no friends, no work. She was waiting, effectively, for someone to die. There had not been any bloody deaths for months at the hospital, and Seether informed her she could be waiting quite a long time. However about a month following her admittance, having not seen anyone, and only having sent one very long, loving apology letter to Wesley in which she poured out her heart and soul, Anne-Marie got lucky. There had been a broom accident, and the patient had a lacerated liver. He had not been found soon after his accident, and so the healers who collected him and all his fluids from the ground though he was a lost cause.

Seether seemed nervous in the healing room. Although he could have been shaking from cold. He had made the room as chilly as an ice box so his assistant would be able to see and capture Anne-Marie's soul when it emerged.

The healer hooked up some muggle hospital contraptions, saying something to the effect of having gotten the idea from Smethwick, and how efficient a delivery system was supposed to be. "This way we can have you back in as little as thirty minutes with magical help and this…stuff. When we have your soul we'll be moving you next door, hook up some new tubes to run your new blood in a warmer room. It would freeze in here you see. Utterly useless."

The tubing was going to run through Anne-Marie's aorta, running in at three places, namely in her abdomen and on either side of her neck. While Seether taped these sections down with some kind of medical tape, another muggle invention, Anne-Marie smiled at him.

"However this turns out," she said softly. "Thank you."

Seether opened the tubing and let the blood run out of her body. Anne-Marie had been cold every since she was bitten, but this was something more. It was an icy, clenching cold that seemed to grasp at her very heart, stealing her breath. Everything went dark and Anne-Marie could only think of Wesley and what he must think of her: lying, going behind his back, drinking more than she should every time he was kind enough to offer her his arm. Things would be different when she woke up. Everything would be better.

Anne-Marie did in fact wake up. It was daylight. She was laying in a bed beside an open window and the sun shone on her face. Her eyes were moist and alive, her skin was warm without the sting. She was cured.

She turned her head and on her other side was Remus in a chair, who smiled at her warmly. "Welcome back to the mortal realm."

"It worked then?"

Remus nodded. "But Seether says he will never try it again. He had to attempt reintroducing your soul seven times before it worked. Almost lost you. The theory is sound. The method is still beyond us, but he is going to try and research more about muggle medical practices with the help of Smethwick."

Anne-Marie now smiled herself. Maybe someday soon there would be a cure for her kind, if they wanted it. But Remus' face had fallen now into something sad and heavy. "What is it?"

Remus pulled his chair closer. "Did anyone tell you who it was who died?"

Anne-Marie shook her head. Remus reached in his coat's breast pocket and drew out a letter. He handed it to her, saying, "This was found on him after he was gone." He stood and rested his hands in his pockets. "I'll give you a moment." Remus turned and retreated.

Anne-Marie furrowed her brow and broke the seal on the letter:

_My Dearest Anne-Marie,_

_The moment you walked into my life you made me come alive. Suddenly there was something other than work and hobnobbing. There was color and there was life. And there was you. Beautiful, talented, funny, treasurable you. In the time I've known you I have never been happier. Never. Which is why I did this for you._

_Don't be sad for me. Remus came to me about why you lied to me about stopping your treatment. You could have told me, love. But I understand why you didn't. I am so proud of you for attempting something so dangerous for the greater good. You're brave and selfless. More of your grander qualities._

_After Remus and I spoke, I talked with your healer. He told me how unlikely it was you were going to get a chance at this cure, possibly for years. That is no way to live. You would not have been happy and I can't be happy knowing you're miserable. _

_The accident was not an accident. I crashed on purpose. Seether didn't know what I was going to do, so don't be cross with him. I made sure Moody was nearby though. I knew he would piece it together when he found me. The whole time they were transporting me I was pleading with the powers that be for them to realize I was a lost cause and let your healer know. _

_I've given my life to improve the quality of yours because I could not bear it to be away from you for one day. Nor could I bear to be lose to you but know that you are supremely miserable at the state of your existence. I've seen the look on your face. After you feed, after those parties. You hate yourself, hate what you are. I've gone so that you have a chance._

_And for that, there is something you need to do for me now. That second cure, the enchanted water from the tree. I want you to try and find it. Find it and become the cure for vampires across the world. If it really is bunk, then help the healers develop this method so it is safer._

_Remember that I will always be with you. My blood is in your veins and no matter where you go, I will always be with you. You were the greatest love of my life, Anne-Marie. And I'll keep on loving you, even in death, until we're reunited once more in what is beyond._

_You ever most beloved, Wesley_

QUEST REQUEST

It took days for Anne-Marie to stop crying, but by the time she was released from Seether's care, she was resigned to the fact that no one had done this to Wesley; he had chosen to go so that she could live. It was true. The first place Anne-Marie went was home. She packed a small soulder bag with extra socks and undergarments, a spare shirt and pants. Basic necessities like a small collection of basic potions and a book on magical legends, containging information after the Eternal Forgiveness tree.

The second place she went was Grimmauld place. Remus was there alone. Sirius was out chasing cars and Molly and Arthur was asleep in the early morning.

"Don't tell anyone until I've had some time to make headway. I don't want anyone coming after me."

They spoke in hushed tones in the hallway just inside the door. Remus asked, "So you're leaving us then?"

"Only because Wesley asked me to do something for him, as a payment for the life he has given me. Besides, I'm not going to be able to show my face around here. If word gets out it'll be catastrophic until the procedure is safe. Better everyone thinks I've either gone or I'm dead. I don't mean to leave you all in a bind, but I think I've done more harm than good in the past couple years."

Remus pulled her into a hug. "You've done good, darling."

They parted and Anne-Marie picked up her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she said, "I will write to you though. Let me know how my quest is going, and how I am. I think you'll appreciate the reasons I'm doing this more than anyone anyway."

He didn't need to answer. Remus knew how important this was. It was a chance to change. He would do the same if anything presented itself. Anne-Marie was likely to come across more legends about such things on her journey, maybe even about how to cure Remus. He would have asked her to write him about them, but he didn't have to. He already knew she would.

They hugged and then she was gone. Anne-Marie was sure she would be back someday. But for the moment, being alone and honoring the memory of the only man she ever loved was enough. More than enough.


End file.
